LOVELAND, Colo. – The Western Michigan hockey team secured a 3-1 victory over Minnesota State on Friday afternoon to advance to the NCAA Regional Final. The win was WMU's 27th of the season, and the Broncos will play the winner of today's Cornell and Denver game. 

Zach Bookman, Samuel Sjolund and Zaccharya Wisdom all had two points in the triumph. Owen Michaels added a goal, along with Bookman and Wisdom. Hampton Slukynsky was tremendous in net, making 23 saves on 24 shots. 

FIRST PERIOD
Offense was hard to come by in the first, but WMU generated a few strong chances. Zack Sharp and Grant Slukynsky had great looks in the first few minutes, but MSU goaltender Alex Tracy was there to make both stops. 

The Mavericks wouldn't get a shot until about 10 minutes in, and Slukynsky was in great position for the stop. Eventually, the Brown and Gold would get the game's first power play. On the man advantage, Bookman nearly put the Broncos in front. However, Tracy was there to make that stop and got MSU back to even strength. 

Down the stretch, Slukynsky would stand tall in net, making multiple saves out front. That included a sprawling stop with just over a minute to go in the opening frame to keep the score tied at 0-0. 

SECOND PERIOD
The Brown and Gold dominated in the second period, getting a trio of shots to open play. Eventually, Wisdom was able to breakthrough and beat Tracy with a magnificent tip in front of the net. The goal was his 17th of the season. 

The Broncos kept up the pressure, and it didn't take long for them to strike again. After a Sharp shot was saved, Western Michigan held the puck in the offensive zone. Eventually, the puck found the stick of Bookman at the blue line, and he fired a wrister into the back of the net to double the lead. 

In the back half of the period, WMU went to the PK. However, it would be Western Michigan getting the best chances on the Mavericks power play. Wisdom had a breakaway saved, while Slukynsky also had a shot out front turned away by Tracy. The Brown and Gold would get back to full strength with under eight minutes to play in the period. 

Down the stretch, the Broncos would generate a few more chances. Tyler MacKenzie and William Whitelaw nearly padded the lead. With under two minutes to play, WMU was assessed a goaltender interference penalty. MSU carried 44 seconds of power-play time into the final 20 minutes of play. 

THIRD PERIOD
The Broncos killed off the remaining power-play time, but the Mavericks were able to light the lamp shortly after. That made the game 2-1 with more than 19 minutes to go in the final period. 

Following that, MSU would go back on the power play, thanks to an interference call on the Brown and Gold. Slukynsky made four saves to keep the Broncos in front. Now back to full strength, WMU went back to work. MacKenzie and Garrett Szydlowski had great chances saved by Tracy. 

Thanks to its aggressiveness, Western Michigan earned another try on the man advantage with just over seven minutes left. Despite a few good looks, the Mavericks would stand tall and get back to 5-on-5 hockey. 

Down the stretch, Minnesota State would pull its goalie looking to find the equalizer. Slukynsky and the WMU defense were up to the task, and Michaels was able to secure the game with an empty-net goal. The Broncos closed out a 3-1 win and advanced to Sunday's Regional Final. 

UP NEXT
The Brown and Gold will square off with either Denver or Cornell on Sunday, March 29. Time for the game is still TBD.